XML Interface to External Systems
Digital Images FIDS provides an XML based interface that allows external entities (e.g.
Airlines, Airports, Baggage Handling Systems, Public Address Systems) a way to access the
FIDS ODB.
The advantages of an XML interface are:
1. That it is inherently extensible, and as a result allows for future, backward compatible changes to the interface.
2. XML provides a data standard that can be easily processed using any of a large number of readily available tools.
3. XML is efficient, in that it is flexible enough to allow the transmission of subsets of data between systems. For example, if the Scheduled time for a flight changes, it would not be necessary to send an entire flight record, but only those fields that allow the receiving system to identify the flight, and the changes made to it.
4. The use of an XML interface allows the FIDS to use a single interface format, rather than implementing a different interface for each external entity, which can prove inefficient, and costly to maintain.